Looking after ourselves
The sun has be warm and bright here in the West, giving me a little boost of goodness.
I learnt to bake a sponge cake 🎂 this morning, and I think I did alright. Here is a picture.
After that finished I went to see my foster sister and her husband. They were at one of their children's home in the suburbs. I had lunch, and shared my cake with everyone. The men have been hard at work with installing stone retaining walls and paving in the back yard. I stayed a couple of hours and headed home, with a stop at the supermarket.
My mother was at home when I got there, thankfully a bit more rested and in better spirits. We sat outside with a cup of tea and chatted before the cool evening got to us. So we're resting in the lounge room now before I get dinner ready.
So it's been a very reasonable day one that I will store in recent memories to bring forth on those difficult days when life seems unbearable. This is what you need to build into your life @Teej
Build moments into your life to remind yourself that sometimes the simple pleasures of life are achievable. I try to get out of my head and house at least every second day and do something I like. It could be a coffee and reading the paper, my volunteer work, a walk by a lake or river, listening to birds in the trees. And I know how difficult it is to appreciate these things when we're in dark places, but I'm finding the more I do it makes me realise if I can't live for my family and I can't live for myself I can live for the simplest reasons. Like melted butter and Vegemite on toast, like the smell of roses, the breeze off an ocean and the crunch of sand under my feet. If I no longer live, I no longer have these things. I don't know if it helps you, but it's helping me at times.
So glad that you had a nice day @Sans911 and you are right - it is those small moments that we often pass by that can actually make a difference - the sand at your feet, the smell of a scented candle, Toby laying close and giving me comfort, Cat purring when she is patted - it doesn't take away the pain but gives a little reprieve from it and those are the times that I am trying to hold onto as well. When the bigger things get too hard we need to break it down into smaller chunks to help us get through ...and the care and compassion of people here certainly does help 
